I’d chatted about the process involved in deciding whether you should rebrand or not. The list of questions you should ask yourself before making the decision to brand was substantial. Here are a few examples of large global brands that, no doubt, answered those questions and proceeded with their rebrand.

Did you know that in 1917 Black & Decker received the world’s first patent for a portable power tool? In 2013 Black & Decker introduced a new logo and spelling. Black & Decker became Black + Decker! They dropped the iconic nut icon and condensed lettering – the only remnants of the previous logo are in the justified stacking of the name. They swopped out for a more standard-looking typeface inside of a rounded corner outline. The rounded corner and spacing between the standard typeface give the new logo a softer look. Some feel it’s less synonymous with the force commonly associated with power tools…but for others, it makes the logo more accessible and less macho.

With the Science Channel, TLC and Animal Planet all looking rather similar to their parent company, it wasn’t long before Discover Channel decided to update their dated logo. I’m not a huge fan of the spacing in CO as, at a quick glance, the logo tends to read as Disoovery! But I do think that the similar treatment of RY works well. It’s pretty obvious that the globe was a definite keeper as this is what most people identity Discover Channel by. And the sizing of the globe is rather tasteful. All in all, the updated font, coupled with the generous spacing in CHANNEL make for a vastly improved and pleasing logo.

In April 2013, Dow Jones unveiled a new logo. The old logo wasn’t bad. Interestingly enough, the new logo turns the weakest element of the old logo into the strongest feature of the new one. The swoosh embedded into the letters ONE are perfectly aligned to start at the curve of the J and end at the top bar of the E. Gentler spacing, lighter weight and bye bye to the italics – overall, it’s a well crafted logo that is elegant and corporate without trying too hard.

Mozilla is a brand near and dear to web developers and designers as the pinnacle of open source-ry! And in the spirit of open source-ness, they made the redesign of their logo public knowledge. From making the brief public (a rare occurrence), to publishing updated versions of the logo for the public’s commentary…14 iterations in total…I couldn’t imagine having the world weigh in on design options! The changes are subtle and minimal…were they really necessary? Let me know what you think.

Instagram. My addiction. Nuff said. With their latest update, version 3.5, they introduced a new logo. They moved from an ‘out the box’ typeface, to a custom hand lettered typeface – allowing them to iron out little kinks in the original font and lend a more flowing feel to the logo. They kept the distinctive I, but the upright script flows perfectly from character to character. My addiction. Enough already!

I’ll stop there for today. There are tons more rebrands to discuss and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you.